Guys response to the Globe and Mail article

Hi,

Here is my response to the Globe and Mail article.

Please send me your comments ASAP. I would like to get this out today.

I agree that we do not want the courts to decide what should be covered in our (Ontario) Medicare system. The courts are eminently unqualified to make these decisions. These decisions must be made on medical basis and not a financial one.

The reason for this is that if we use a dollars and cents model to determine who receives care we must take into account more factors than just the patient. In calculating what Medicare is willing to spend on a patient we would have to consider what potential return that person represents to the system. This would include taxes paid by the patient and offspring (you don't get to have offspring if you die) and the contribution of all of these people to society. No one knows what the future holds for us and Medicare needs to ensure we get every chance to enjoy that future no matter what the cost.

I am a sufferer of a rare disorder called Pompe diseases (www.pompecanada.com). When I started working in Ontario more than twenty years ago the only thing I knew about OHIP was that is took a slice out of my paycheque. No one explained to me what was and was not covered by this insurance. I would equate this with purchasing auto insurance but not being told by the provider what is covered. One further point, and that is that there is no alternative to OHIP. I cannot opt out and take care of myself or use another provider. In my particular case there are very expensive therapies coming available that are not presently covered in Ontario that are being covered by private health care providers in the United States. To their credit the Ontario government is putting in place policies to cover these drugs at seeming political light speed.

A separate issue is where to get the funds for these extremely expensive therapies. I would argue that the therapies are deemed expensive if you look at a per patient cost. If you look at a per disorder cost more common disorders (cancer, diabetes) consume far more money than will ever be invested in rare disorders. That being said, as a sufferer of a rare disorder do I not deserve to be treated as well as all the other people in the system.

Lastly, and by no means least, if we do not encourage as a society the development of new therapies we severely limit our ability to survive as a society. We all make a contribution to make this country work. We all deserve equal access to treatment. It is up to the government to support that treatment by finding the funds to do it. The money is there just check your last Member of Provincial Parliament for the Province of Ontario's paycheck .it went up by 25%!!